Monday, February 20

Lindy's Diary by Alex Flinn

The companion novel to 'Beastly,' written from the perspective of the "Beauty," Lindy.

I only came across this book by chance. It appears to have been released less than a month ago. I snatched it up on Kindle due to the low price and an interest in reading the story from Lindy's perspective.

Lindy may be the "Beauty" figure in the story but she is not stunningly beautiful. She isn't ugly but neither is she presented as a sex bomb disguised as a Plain Jane. She is someone the reader can relate to.

When it comes to the story of 'Beauty and the Beast' there is a huge focus on the role of the girl. She is the one who is taken away. She is the one whom the sympathies of the reader should lie with. So, after enjoying stepping into the modern-day retelling of the story in 'Beastly' I was interested to see what a modern day "kidnapped" girl would have to write in her diary.

An important part of 'Beastly' was that Kyle had to learn that beauty was about what was inside and not all about looks. What interested me was that Lindy had her own variation of this lesson to learn. She might not have been shallow like Kyle but she was still drawn to Kyle's physical appearance.

What I most wanted to see was Lindy's take on living with the "Beast." There were plenty of references made to other adaptations of the original story, like the Disney film and 'The Phantom of the Opera' and "Stockholm" was not a word that was ignored. Flinn manages to write Lindy's voice in such a way that whether or not we can identify with her thought process is irrelevant, we see her own rationality in it.

'Lindy's Diary' is not a book I would recommend unless you have already read 'Beastly.' If you have and enjoyed it, go for it. You won't be disappointed.

I look forward to reading more of Alex Flinn's novels, particularly 'Cloaked.'

In accordance with the FTC, Quill Café would like to disclose that the reviewer purchased this book. The opinions expressed are hers alone and no monetary compensation was offered to her by the author or publisher. Cover art is copyright of Harper Teen and is used solely as an aide to the review.